The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an electrode and method of manufacturing an electrode, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to an electrode characterized by high surface area and method of manufacturing such an electrode.
Electrodes are key elements in several classes of energy storage and conversion devices, including, batteries, fuel cells, capacitors and electrochemical capacitors (ultracapacitors or supercapacitors), as well as sensing devices such as amperometric biosensors and the like. Technological advances in the electronics industry have created a substantial and on-going need to reduce electrode volume and weight to attain increased electrical and electrochemical energy and power densities. In general, advances in miniaturization and weight reduction of energy storage devices have not kept pace with the miniaturization and portability of other electronic components.
Electrical and electrochemical energy storage and peak power generally scale with the available surface area of the electrode. Hence, a route to increasing the ratio of stored energy and peak power to the weight and volume of the electrodes is to increase the surface area of the electrodes.
Several attempts have been made to produce materials with high specific areas (surface area divided by the mass or volume of the bulk material). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,515,763 and 4,851,206 teach the preparation of such materials as metallic carbide and nitride powder catalysts. High surface area electrodes based on etched or patterned metal surfaces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,025, high surface area electrode based on carbon powders or foams are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,079,674 and 4,327,400, and high surface area electrodes based on ruthenium oxides are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,679.
Also known, are high surface area electrodes which comprise a support coated by peptide macromolecular structures, where the peptide macromolecular structures are composed of a plurality of peptides self-assembled into the peptide macromolecular structures [U.S. Published Application No. 2007-0138007]. International Publication No. WO2008/068752 discloses an array of vertically aligned elongated peptide nanostructures. Peptide monomers dissolved in an organic volatile solvent are placed on a substrate. While generating conditions for self assembling of the monomers, the solvent is evaporated to form elongated peptide nanostructures arranged generally perpendicularly on the substrate. The thus formed array can be incorporated in sensing and stimulating devices such as medical leads.